Career Coaching Legacy of Logan Martinez (CH2K8)

[HarkTheSound]

NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET - Elite Eight

East Region

#2 Maryland 74 vs #8 Clemson 95


South Region

#7 Indiana 55 vs #8 Arizona State 64


Midwest Region

#5 Washington State 80 vs #6 Villanova 78


West Region

#2 Louisville 100 vs #5 Oklahoma 67

Elite Eight Analysis: #8 Clemson makes it to the Final Four! What a run; They defeated the #1, #2, and #4 seed on the way there. A deep bench, along with the scoring of SG Tanner Smith, carried them through some tough competition.

#8 Arizona State continues their defensive dominance as they hold Hoosiers' star SF Christian Watford to 6 points. They don't have any stars on this team (in fact, their two highest scorers come off the bench) but they clamp down on D like nobody else.

#5 Washington State advances to the Final Four to face Pac-10 foe Arizona State. They are a senior laden bunch that gets the job done and comes up big in the clutch, as evident in their close wins this tournament against teams that are more "talented."

#2 Louisville looks like the favorite to win it all as they blow out a good Oklahoma team. The Cardinal faithful desperately wanted to meet Kentucky in the Regional Final, but the Sooners dispatched of the Wildcats before Louisville could play them. The Cardinal look unstoppable as Peyton Siva, Chris Smith, and Terrance Jennings have led this through a dominant tournament run so far. Many argue they should've been a #1 seed, but their loss to Marquette in the Big East Championship prevented that from happening. Looks like that's all the motivation they needed.

[HarkTheSound]

NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET - Final Four

#2 Louisville 68 vs #8 Clemson 65

#5 Washington State 73 vs #8 Arizona State 75

Final Four Analysis - Clemson doesn't go down until the bitter end, but Louisville holds on to the win. SG Chris Smith led the Cardinals in scoring with 21 points, while PG Peyton Siva tallied 14 points and dished out 5 assists. It was Louisville first close call of the tournament, and they managed to emerge victorious.

Arizona State's defense earned them yet another victory. They forced the Cougars into shooting 18-53 from the field; the only reason Washington State was in the game was because of they got the Sun Devils in foul trouble. They hit 31 of 44 free throws, but it wasn't enough to get by Arizona State.

National Championship

#2 Louisville 86 vs #8 Arizona State 70

National Championship Analysis: The Cardinals deadly and efficient offense was simply too much for Arizona State to overcome as Louisville wins the National Championship! Peyton Siva (12 pts, 6 rebs, 6 asts), Chris Smith (18 pts, 5 rebs), Terrance Jennings (16 pts, 6 rebs) and company would not be denied as they went into the half with a 14 point lead and never looked back. They did something no other team could do in this tournament against Arizona State: they shot over 50% from the floor (29-53, 9-18 from 3).

In a battle of contrasting styles, the Louisville Cardinals emerge as the 2009 National Champions!

[HarkTheSound]

Awards Round-Up

National Champions: Louisville Cardinals (31-7, 12-6)

Player of the Year: PG Kyrie Irving (Duke) - 26.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.6 spg

Mid-Major Player of the Year: SF Mike Glover (Iona) - 23.5 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 1.1 spg, 1.6 bpg

Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino (Louisville)

Defensive Player of the Year: SF Trey Thompkins (Georgia) - 18.5 ppg, 12 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.6 bpg

Big Man of the Year: PF Mouphtaou Yarou (Villanova) - 23.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.3 bpg

Freshman of the Year: SG Ricardo Ledo (Providence) - 18.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.6 apg



First-Team All-American

PG Kyrie Irving (Duke) - 26.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.6 spg

SG Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh) - 26.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.5 apg

SF Mike Glover (Iona) - 23.5 ppg, 13.9 rpg, 1.1 spg, 1.6 bpg

PF Mouphtaou Yarou (Villanova) - 23.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3.3 bpg

C Aaric Murray (La Salle) - 23.4 ppg, 10 rpg, 2.3 bpg


Second-Team All-American

PG Ben Hansbrough (Notre Dame) - 20.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.7 apg, 1.6 spg

SG Alec Burks (Colorado) - 26.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.5 spg

SF Trey Thompkins (Georgia) - 18.5 ppg, 12 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.6 bpg

PF Terrence Jones (Kentucky) - 23.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.5 bpg

C Kenny Frease (Xavier) - 19.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg


Freshman All-American

PG Brad Havens (Arizona) - 12.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4 apg, 2 spg

SG Ricardo Ledo (Providence) - 18.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.6 apg

SF Fred Dumbliauskas (UNLV) - 14.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1 spg

PF Ryan Pawlak (UNLV) - 13.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg

C Harold Riley (Ohio State) - 10.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.2 bpg

[HarkTheSound]

Texas Southern Tigers Season Recap 2008-2009

Overall Record: 25-8 (14-4)

PPG: 72
APG: 21.9
RPG: 32.4
FG%: 47.9
3PT%: 39.1
FT%: 72.8
SPG: 8.9
BPG: 3.2


Award Winners:

Conference Coach of the Year: Logan Martinez
Conference Player of the Year: SG Lawrence Danner-Johnson
Conference Freshman of the Year: C Laurence Garza

First-Team All-Conference:

SG Lawrence Danner-Johnson
PF Keithtrick Denson
C Laurence Garza

Freshman All-Conference:

PG Austen Mitchell
PF Damien Allen
C Laurence Garza

Texas Southern Stats - 2009
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
Lawrence Danner-Johnson (Starter)	30	20.2	16.9	1.8	3	1.1		.6	.8
Laurence Garza (Starter)	33	18.2	10.2	9.2	1.8	.3	1.5	.9	1.8
Keithtrick Denson (Starter)	33	17.9	10.1	4.6	2.5	1.4		.8	1.1
Micah Flowers	33	16	9.5	3.1	1.6	.8	.2	.8	1
Aaron Clayborn (Starter)	33	17.1	7.8	3.2	.9	1.5	.4	.8	1
Damien Allen	33	15.7	7.4	4.7	1.8	1	.5	.8	1.3
Austen Mitchell (Starter)	33	19.4	4	1.7	6.6	1.3	.1	2.3	1.2
Nico Norris	32	11.5	3.8	1.5	1.3	.7		.5	.6
TeAllen Price	28	8.5	3.7	2.6	1	.5	.3	.5	.7
Justin Ray	33	9	.8	.5	1.8	.4		.8	.4
Mitchell Collum	4	6	1.5	1.5	1	.5	.5	.3	1

[HarkTheSound]

Speculation Abound as Schools Eye Texas Southern's Martinez

Soon after Texas Southern's defeat against the Texas Longhorns, coach Logan Martinez already had to field questions about whether or not he was returning to the program. After accumulating a 44-21 record in two years with the Tigers and leading the program to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, several programs , reportedly, have called Martinez to express their interest in him.

The wheels of the coaching carousel have already begun to churn as reports have indicated that Jim Calhoun will announce his retirement from the UConn program. Several sources have already noted that Gonzaga's Mark Few is UConn's top target, and it is likely they will will offer him the position once Calhoun steps down.

Several schools have already fired their coach, as Boston College's Steve Donahue, Virginia's Tony Bennett and Depaul's Oliver Purnell have already been let go, among others.

Martinez had this to say regarding his future, "Look guys, we just ended a great year here...Let's take a minute to celebrate the success this program has achieved this year and stop worrying about where I'm going and what I'll be doing next year. I'm only 27 years old, there are way more qualified coaches than myself out there that deserve the attention more than I do. Go talk to them."

[HarkTheSound]

Coach Martinez Press Conference

"Good afternoon, guys. As everyone knows, rumors have been running rampant as to where I will be coaching next year. As you guys have seen, it's been a tumultuous off-season for a lot of coaches.

The legendary Jim Calhoun has retired, and several big name coaches have been fired. With those firings, coaches from some of the mid-major schools have opted to move up in the ranks and take those big name jobs. Mark Few is now at UConn, Shaka Smart has taken the position at Boston College, Gregg Marshall is now at DePaul, and there are many more examples of that.

I, too, have been offered be the head coach at several top-notch programs. The headliners that have offered me are VCU and Gonzaga. Also, intriguing opportunities at UL-Lafayette, Central Michigan, Ball State, Murray State, and several others exist.

This has been a very difficult decision for me to make. The recruiting class that I have coming in this year is probably the best in Tigers' history, no offense to last year's class. The best of those recruits, Seamus Burns, looks like the next Carmelo Anthony. Even though he is only a recruit, the guy is going to be an absolute stud. I can't even imagine what him and Danner-Johnson will do next season. It's going to be fun to watch.

That's why it hurts me more than anything else I have done in my life to leave this great program. In two years, I have watched these young men grow up so fast. I set high expectations for these guys coming in, despite this school not being the most tradition rich program out there. They bought into anyway, ignoring the fact that I was some 25-year old wide eyed rookie coach from good ole' North Carolina who was just trying to fire the guys up and get them pumped to play for someone who was just as nervous as they were when I first accepted the job.

I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of guys. What they accomplished this year was truly amazing. We not only made the first NCAA Tournament in this program's history this year, we won a game against one of the most tradition-rich basketball schools in the country without our best player.

With that said, I do know where I will be coaching next season. This program is on the rise, making the NCAA Tournament last year, and is a place I know can compete with the elite schools in our nation in a few years time. I want to thank all of the Athletic Directors who have contacted me the last couple of days; I'm not a person who likes to say no at all, so to decline your offers was something that was very troubling for me.

For the foreseeable future, I will now be the head basketball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University! Go Rams!"

[Knickerbocker91]

Wow, those are some big name offers right out the gate with VCU and Gonzaga! Good luck with the Rams!

[HarkTheSound]

Quote: Originally Posted by Knickerbocker91

Wow, those are some big name offers right out the gate with VCU and Gonzaga! Good luck with the Rams!

Yeah, I definitely got lucky with some of these job offerings. There have been times in other legacies where I'd have to wait on a school like Gonzaga or VCU for 5, 6, or, 7 years.

When VCU opened up, there was simply no way I could pass that up, even though I loved my Texas Southern squad. The SWAC is a pretty horrible conference though and I really found playing in the Colonial to be much more appealing.